Going to get a boogie need some advice!!!

[fusionexperiment]

Hi everyone,
I have been lurking for a while and reading up on some useful information here. I have basically narrowed down my choices to these 2 boogie choices. A nomad 45 or the f-30 r 50.

I am in a rock band that covers mostly stuff like Mr Big, Extreme, Van Halen, etc. But,we also do a good dose of funk, blues and some fusion too. I am definitely looking for some amount of versatility in the amp (good cleans, nice bluesy punch and crunch)but also able to give me a rock rhythm and lead tone very much like Gilbert or Nuno. i don't play much metal, but the heaviest i probably need is something in the range of dream theater or evergrey.

The triple channel and amount of stuff you may be able to do on the nomad is a big drawing factor for me, but i seem to have read reviews that it is quite problematic technically and that channel three is not much of a use. The f-30 though, i have heard soundclips provided on this board and was very impressed by its distortion sounds.

Over at where i am, we don't have boogies here or dealers. But i have managed to test a nomad for only 15 minutes once. I really liked its cleans and overdriven tones. Didnt get time at all to play around with it. I am intending to go with advice and gut feeling this time to order online. Hence, all your help and opinions are greatly needed and appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Surfcaster]

Personally, having heard and played all three before I bought mine, I chose the F-50 and would guess we play similar styles. A buddy who was in a band with me had a Nomad 45 and he just recently sold it. He was initially attracted by the three channels, but he could never really get what he was looking for out of the second channel, though he really liked channel one and channel three. I pretty much agreed with him.

I was looking for a good high gain combo with a good clean channel about a year after he bought that amp and after trying a number of Marshalls and Fenders and Crates and Peaveys and Line 6s settled on the F-50. Compared to the Nomad 45, I think the clean channel is a little better and the gain channel is at least comparable, perhaps better. And my buddy has even said again just lately that if he thought the F-50 is a great amp and a keeper, and if he didnt' have his heart set on a three channel amp, he might have gotten one.

And personally, I think the F-50 has a little more bottom end than the F-30. I played the two amps side by side when I bought mine (with the same buddy along with me) and I had gone there expecting to buy the F-30. The salesman told me that when people tried them side by side, most people preferred the F-50...in fact another salesman had told me the same thing. Well, my buddy and I agreed...I really felt it was worth the extra cash.

That's my experience. YMMV.

 

[TheRazMeister]

Fusion, keep in mind that the Nomad is discontinued and may be harder to get unless you don't mind dealer close-outs or Ebay. The F-50 seems to be a favorite among a few of the posters. I'd recommend the Rectoverb combo, but it is just too heavy (80 lbs) to realistically be considered if you move your equipment from house to practise regularly.

Hi everyone,
I have been lurking for a while and reading up on some useful information here. I have basically narrowed down my choices to these 2 boogie choices. A nomad 45 or the f-30 r 50.

 

[pau_leader]

Fusion, keep in mind that the Nomad is discontinued and may be harder to get unless you don't mind dealer close-outs or Ebay. The F-50 seems to be a favorite among a few of the posters. I'd recommend the Rectoverb combo, but it is just too heavy (80 lbs) to realistically be considered if you move your equipment from house to practise regularly.

Hi everyone,
I have been lurking for a while and reading up on some useful information here. I have basically narrowed down my choices to these 2 boogie choices. A nomad 45 or the f-30 r 50.

F-50. That amp is versitile. You can get a lot of cool tones. Dont forget the clean channel, very nice. A greta low bottom end. Its not that heavy,so you can lug it around.


This amp is a keeper. I love it!

 

[fusionexperiment]

Thanks for the replies guys. It was definitely a big help.

Yeah i have considered the rect-o-verb too, but the weight factor is really a big one. I have found a nomad 45 selling for $750, its in mint condition and a f-30 selling for around the same price too. I presume both are second hand but in mint condition. Any other mesa amps that fit the above bill? Other opinions are welcomed too. Thanks.

 

[Surfcaster]

I should add that why I love my F-50, I would probably be happy with a Nomad 45, too. Like I said, I really liked channel 3 and even channel one, and I think I could have found a use for channel 2...and even if I didn't, I'd still have two channels that I really liked...in that respect I'd be no worse off than I would be with my F-50 which only has two channels to begin with!

A couple things that I liked about the Nomad that the F series doesn't have is the presence control, the solo level and the global master volume control (output).

 

[fusionexperiment]

I am really gonna have to think hard about this one. I have been quoted very different shipping rates so far. The nomad is 750 with a 250 shipping cost. The f-30 is about 700...with a 400 shipping cost. Thats really alot. Perhaps i have to pay for the boxes and packaging etc...cause when i calculated from here, all i gotta pay for is about 200-220. The prices of the amps are fine. But , the shipping is really killer.

 

[Surfcaster]

I have to agree...are they shipping overseas?

 

[fusionexperiment]

Yup they are. To Asia actually.

 

[metfan]

hey fusion,

you should check out some music shops wherever you are in Asia as you'll have a good chance of finding discontinued amp models regardless of make.

 

[goneloco]

sorry to say but the f-50 and the nomad are virtually practice amps...no power at all
save some money and buy an "AMP" roadking,triprec,stiletto etc...l

 

[metfan]

sorry to say but the f-50 and the nomad are virtually practice amps...no power at all
save some money and buy an "AMP" roadking,triprec,stiletto etc...l

No power? The volume difference between an f-50 and road king for example (say they were being run through a 4x12) is very little...watts aren't indicative of volume in a linear manner.

 

[Surfcaster]

Yeah, a 100W amp is only minimally louder than a 50W amp...I just did the calculations the other day for a 120W amp, which is only 1.2 times as loud as a 50W amp, so a 100W amp is just under that. What you do get with a 100W amp is much more headroom before your power tubes break up...your cleans stay clean at higher levels and so on.

A 50W amp is anything but a practice amp...a lot of professionals use 50W amps, or even 30W amps (think of all those using Matchless and BadCats, most of which are 30W or less).

 

[TheRazMeister]

I dare say there aren't too many brave souls that will stand in front of my 50 watt ROV "practise amp" at even half volume.

Yeah, a 100W amp is only minimally louder than a 50W amp...I just did the calculations the other day for a 120W amp, which is only 1.2 times as loud as a 50W amp, so a 100W amp is just under that. What you do get with a 100W amp is much more headroom before your power tubes break up...your cleans stay clean at higher levels and so on.

A 50W amp is anything but a practice amp...a lot of professionals use 50W amps, or even 30W amps (think of all those using Matchless and BadCats, most of which are 30W or less).

 

[vulture2600]

my f30 kept up FINE with a VERY loud drummer, svt bass rig and
a 100w 5150....

 

[no soul]

Yeah, a 100W amp is only minimally louder than a 50W amp...I just did the calculations the other day for a 120W amp,quote]

a 120w amp (if we are talking tubes) is really just a 100w amp rated differently, thats all.

Goneloco, sorry man, but I dub thee "NOOB" because you havent the slightest idea what you are talking about. Please do some amp homework before you post statements like that again. The founder of Groove Tubes wrote a great book about tube amps, do yourself and us a favor and read it.

For the record, here are the facts:

when you double the output wattage of any given design you gain at max power ONLY 3db.

In order for a human ear to perceive something as twice as loud, you need to gain 10db.

For any given design in order to to gain said 10db, you need to roughly multiply your wattage by 10. Hence, 100w or 150w is not even remotely close to being to being twice as loud as a 50w model. 3db is almost negligable actually. What you get with higher power ratings is actually different dynamics, not more volume. A 50w model is going to clip (or create distortion) fast than a 100w or 150w, thats primary difference, not volume.

Also, if you want more volume, get more speakers! A F-30 head powering a fullstack is going to be louder than a Roadking combo.

 

[goneloco]

bottom line - an amp with one 12 inch speaker is going to struggle when playing live unless your miked. unless your in a carpenters cover band. or maybe I just rock wayyyyyyy to hard.

 

[axwielding1]

First off, I can hang with any triple rec in volume with my Mark III.
It's ONLY 85 watts. :wink: I'm pretty sure I can separate muscle from bone at 15 feet..... :shock:
Now, if I were to purchase , say, a Marshall, I'd definitely go for a 50 watt or less, so it breaks up earlier. I never would use a marshall 100watt for clean headroom, they're not supposed to be clean....
About the original thread:
I like the Nomad 45 2-12" combo.. I like channel 1 alot. Sounds great clean and overdriven. Channel 2 is crunchy and gets fairly wild. Channel 3 is good at lower gain settings but I don't like the extreme settings.
The F30 has EL84's, and gets a nicer clean. Chimey. The overdiven tones are nice and crunchy. I prefer the tone of the F30 over the F50.....
ax. :twisted:

 

[no soul]

bottom line - an amp with one 12 inch speaker is going to struggle when playing live unless your miked. unless your in a carpenters cover band. or maybe I just rock wayyyyyyy to hard.

well maybe youve never heard of the term extension cab?

And actually for most types of music if you play w/ musicians who dont try to compensate their lack of skill with volume, a 12" can be plenty loud.

What do I know though, I used to play out of a full stack.